


The Most Painful of Dreams

by ivnwrites



Category: Peter Pan (2003), Peter Pan - J. M. Barrie
Genre: 1901, Alternate Universe - Edwardian, Children's Hospital, PTSD, mentions of the Boxer Rebellion, this idea has been stewing for a while
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-03
Updated: 2017-02-03
Packaged: 2018-09-21 17:53:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9560345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ivnwrites/pseuds/ivnwrites
Summary: James Darling was a medic in the British army when he was called up to fight the Boxer Rebellion. After loosing his hand in a building collapse, he returned toe England and acquired a position in a children’s hospital. When he arrives he meets peter, the son of the hospital’s director, who has become fixated on “Captain Hook.”Peter invented the world of Neverland a place where no one ever grew up, telling himself his parents were long gone, and that the other children were his friends and followers. But did he actually manage to convince himself?





	

**Author's Note:**

> Based on a [moodboard](http://ivnwrites.tumblr.com/post/148898294416/peter-pan-edwardian-childrens-hospital-au-james) I made ages ago.
> 
> This idea has been stewing in my head for about a year now. I read the original Peter Pan when I was quite young, and I always thought it was sad. I am happy to go on an on about it, so if you are interested please feel free to visit me on my [tumblr](http://ivnwrites.tumblr.com).

“Captain!” James turned and saw one of the children run towards him with a smile on their face. He knelt down and the child looked at him expectantly for a few moments before cocking his head. “Don’t you remember me?”

The question was unexpected, but James smiled. “Why don’t you remind me?”

“I’m Peter Pan.” Peter reached out and rested a hand on James’ chest. “You’re Captain James Hook.” At James’ raised eyebrow Peter leant forward to whisper into his ear. He felt a weight on his right arm and looked down to see the Peter had curled his fingers around the wooden prosthetic James wore. “I’m sorry I fed your hand to a crocodile.”

James let out a startled chuckle and laid his left hand over Peter’s when the boy reeled back slightly. “That’s quite alright. I forgave you a long time ago.”

A bright smile spread across Peter’s face and he threw his arms around James’ shoulders, burying his face in the crook of the man’s neck. “I missed you so much!”

James returned the embrace, pulling back when he felt his guide tap him on the shoulder. He looked up to see the nurse gesture toward the door at the back of the ward. “I have to go now, but I’ll see you again later. Alright?” He watched as Peter nodded and scampered off before standing up and turning to face the nurse, Mary.

“You dealt with that surprisingly well.” She remarked. “We’ve had children with delusions before, but I’ve never seen a caretaker fall into place as quickly as you did.”

James watched as Peter wove in between the other children, greeting some of them as he made his way through the room. “I’ve seen men face the same problem. Something happens in their life that they can’t deal with, so they invent a new one.” He turned back to Mary and followed her out of the room. “Who is he?”

She closed the door quietly behind them before gesturing down a long hallway. “Peter is Director Ansell’s son. His mother died when he was very young, and he’s lived here for his whole life. I suppose he came up with his fantasy as a way to escape.”

“But why did he fixate on me, and how did he know my name and rank?”

Mary sighed. “Peter knows this place like the back of his hand, he’s supposed to be limited to the wards, the same as the other children, but he’s slipped past us so many times we’ve given up on trying to keep him there.” She shook her head and shrugged, a faint smile on her lips. “Occasionally he’ll sneak into his father’s office and rummage through the files. It’s likely that he saw your application and remembered it. He started talking about ‘Captain Hook’ nearly a month ago.” They arrived at an office with a solid oak door and Mary knocked before placing her hand on the knob. “Good luck in there.” James tipped a make-believe hat and stepped through when she opened the door. 

The hospital director was sitting at his large desk in the center of the office, one hand held a medical textbook open while the other He looked up from the papers he was reading when James came into the room and stood to greet him. “James Darling? A pleasure to meet you at last, please, have a seat.” James shook the director’s outstretched left hand and sat in the offered chair, folding his coat across his lap. “How are you finding our institution.”

“Your patients seem,” He struggled to find an appropriate word. “content. I am, admittedly, not the best judge of civilian hospitals at this point in time.”

Ansell nodded, retrieving a folder that had been sitting on the edge of his desk. “Yes, the files sent by your commanding officer said you received multiple commendations for your service. Apparently, you’re one of the best physicians he's ever seen, even after you lost your ability to perform surgury.” He laid the pages aside and gestured to James’ right hand. “How did you lose your hand? If I may ask.”

“I was a medic in the army during the Boxer Rebellion. There was an explosion in one of our storehouses. I went in to pull the guards out.” James swallowed thickly and cleared his throat, feeling nausea build in the pit of his stomach. “One of the support beams collapsed and caught me on the shoulder. By the time they got my arm free the hand was…useless. Burned through and almost completely crushed.”

He wrapped the fingers of his left hand tightly over the wooden right one, and let out a long breath. He could remember laying on the floor, screaming in shock and terror as he prayed to every deity he could think of that the roof would hold. There had been something oddly surreal about knowing that the acrid smell of burning flesh came from his own body. When he was finally dislodged and brought to the infirmary, the nerve endings had been destroyed. It had created a feeling of dissonance and confusion when he saw his hand and realized that it should have hurt.

Ansell’s voice broke through his thoughts. “Why did you go in?”

James shrugged. “I was close by. It only made sense.” He saw the director studying him closely. James sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I apologise for being so grim.”

“That’s quite alright.” Ansell waited for James to look up again before he held out a hand. “You’re a good man, captain. It would be an honour to have you working with us.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'd like to thank my beta reader, but I couldn't get one (yes, I am being passive aggressive).
> 
> I'd love to hear what people think of this fic, and what you want to see from the characters.


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